Evariste Carpentier - Artist

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                   "...prayer is an art to be cultivated..."

 

                                (Taken from Lectio Divana and The Practice of Teresian Prayer)

A quote and reflection...

"Wherever I am or whatever I do, You never leave me alone; grant that I, too, may always remain with You. At every hour of the day and night, in joy or sorrow, in every work and action, may I always know how to find You within me"! St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

I have found that the more time I spend with God, the more I want to be in His presence ! It's kind of like when you first began dating your spouse...you wanted to be together ALL THE TIME! You thought about them when you couldn't be with eachother, wondering what he/she was doing, planning when you could be together again, thinking out what you wanted to say to them and just loving the feeling you had when you were together! The more time I spend on being accustomed to having Jesus at the side, the more I want Him there! I think that is why I'm really loving to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. It allows me sit down and spend time with the one I love and who loves me! They say (whoever 'they' is) that if you do something for a certain amount of days in a row, it becomes a habit, and I have found that to be true and I look forward throughout the day when I can sit down and spend some quiet time with Him. I have fallen deeply, madly in love!
But, I also know that if one wants to STAY in the blissful state of intimate love, that it takes work and that it doesn't just happen...I know this because I can honestly say that after 29 years of marriage, Steve and I are still 'in love'!
Sure, we have had our ups and downs, but, we love eachother enough to know it's important to talk and LISTEN to eachother. That, I think, is the kind of relationship God wants with us! He is important in my life, so I need to take time and show Him that I want to spend time with Him...then when the time comes,(and it will)when I hit a dry spell, I know in my heart, that just like with Steve, that God will not stop loving me and that it's time to get back to spending quality time together and making the effort to keep Him present in my mind and heart.
Lord, I want more than anything to have you in my life in an intimate way. It is only with you that I can be the woman that YOU intended me to be! Teach me to always rely on your love and show me other ways to love you as much as YOU love me!
Amen.

God's little dwelling place....

This morning I was praying the Liturgy of the Hours and read the following. It touched my heart so, I thought I would share it. It is taken from Ephesians 2:19-21.

"You are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in Him you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit."

Sometimes I forget that my own little soul is a temple for Jesus. I receive Him daily at communion, so I need to keep in mind ALWAYS to have a beautiful and tidy place for Him to rest. Heavenly Father, help me to keep the little sanctuary of my soul a place that the You long to be. Amen.

From the 'Little Catechism of Prayer' by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen...

"The Contemplative life is a form of the Christian life in which we endeavor to live not only FOR God, but also WITH God. It is not restricted to religious, but can be lived perfectly in the world. This life is wholly centered on the quest for divine intimacy, to attain which it calls for repeated spiritual exercises throughout the day.
Prayer occupies the first place in the contemplative life. Practically, the contemplative life is the life of prayer. Hence, contemplative Orders devote much time to prayer.
Carmelites give themselves to many pious exercises: they make mental prayer twice daily, assist at Holy Mass, recited the Divine Office, and apply themselves to the Presence of God throughout they day."